Knitcole, I freeform, too! No one around here does and I think I make them a little bitchy... I can't (won't) do a knitalong. : )

My fav and easiest variation of Hothead (made with acrylic for people with allergies and for a homeless drug addicts project)

size 9 rather than 10 1/2 circ needlesco 80 sts rather than 56-64 stsk2 p2 for 4 rowschange colork2 p2 for 2 or 3 rowschange color backk2 p2 for 23 or 24 rows (long enough to cover ears)do whatever decrease I feel like for seven or so rowsthread end through and tighten, weave in ends, etc.

So quick and easy but still cute. I usually make one during a movie on TCM.

I've also made the keyhole scarf a little wider and shorter so that it bunches in the neck area of my jacket like an ascot.

I made the wrist warmers looser and longer but not quite arm warmer length. I wear them pulled down over the top of my hands and they reach about 3/4 sleeve length up my arm. The reason for this is because I spend a lot of time in ice rinks and I wanted to plug up the area between my jacket sleeve and my arm.

Yay! That is so cool. I can't do any knitalongs either, although I attempted one once. It just wasn't for me. Not only was I tweaking the pattern with additions and omissions to my liking, but I was knitting it using completely different yarn, stitch patterns, and I was turning a pullover into a cardigan. The end result was NOTHING like anyone elses. I also have a tendency to breeze through projects if I *really* want to wear one, so a week or so into it, while some people were just casting on, I was already binding off and adding finishing touches.

One of the free form projects that I am working on now is an i-cord knee-length cardigan made out of nothing but i-cords. I'm enjoying this project so much because there is no pattern that I can base it off of (that I know of, anyway), and its just i-cords, which take little or no concentration to make.

My FAVORITE hat pattern is this one (I use it for everything, and since its knit top down on straight needles anyone can make it to fit anyone from a baby to an adult. All you have to do when you are done knitting its length is to cut your yarn so its long enough to stitch up the back, use an invisible seam, and when you get to the top you just draw your yarn around the top stitches that have formed a circle and pull tight, then you are done. It looks like it was knit on circs too, even though it wasn't.):

R16: It is at this point where you can adjust to either increase or decrease the number of stitches on your needle to fit whatever stitch pattern you choose to use for the hat. For example, lets say that you decide that you want to knit your hat with the tulip lace pattern from Vogue Knitting's Ultimate Knitting Book. The lace pattern states that the st patt requires a multiple of 8 stitches. Since you have 81 stitches on the needle, purl 2 together to decrease by one stitch on your needles so that you are working with 80 stitches instead of 81. For a basic hat, I like to do a simple k1p1 rib throughout the hat. Therefore, I increase in the first stitch in this row, and then k1p1 back as normal, because k1p1 rib requires an even number of stitches.

R17-?: Knit in your pattern until you have reached your desired length.

I can totally bang these babies out while watching one movie, too! haha. I actually posted that pattern up (its in the archives now) on my knitting blog because its just so easy. I recently made one using a variation of old shale lace with a ruffled edge (by increasing three times in each stitch three rows before I was to bind off), and slipped a satin ribbon through eyelets I made near the brim. Its freakin' adorable and it took less than one movie to make.

And I wish I had pictures too. The problem is, I have them and can't get them online. SOOO FRUSTRATING!

You wouldn't happen to be from Jersey, would you? It would be awesome to have another freeformer at my knitting group!

Thank you SO MUCH! I'm a newbie knitter (again) and I was in dire need of a hat that was easy and on straights! I'm afraid of circs. Heheh! My husband will love you too once he gets a hat out of me Now I need to practice my increases.

No problem doll! I'm sorry I can't post pictures of the end product, but as long as you do a nice invisible seam, you can barely tell its knit on straights. And since I just noticed that I forgot to mention needle size and yarn, I usually use regular old 4-ply acrylic and needles sized between US 5's and US 7's.

Whew! I thought there was something wrong with me! Ha! Now I see that I'm just a type! I look at patterns as suggestions rather than directions. My "Skully", for example, is made from cream colored yarn, with a heart on the sleeve. Okay, only a teensie variation. But now I'm working on the cardigan and I'm using mohair for the body and I'm going to make belled sleeves and put a seed stitched heart motif around one wrist. I'm going to edge it with a light green rayon. I think it's going to be lovely.

I LOVE the teeny version! It's outrageously cute... It's so much fun to see the bag making its way into the world & being adapted size- and color-wise.

hi, Meema!

thanks, i'm glad you like it! i absolutely love the pattern and have made 4 totes already (so far)! i will always have a soft spot for these bags cause they're the first real project from a pattern i've knitted. it's almost embarrasing how proud i was when the first one came out looking the way i expected it to!

anyhow, thanks for the compliment and the super cool pattern. i would love to see more from you!

btw, i wanted to let you know that it was the pictures you posted on this board that inspired me to move beyond the rectangular objects! i started knitting in late december and was convinced i had to put in at least a year of scarf and washcloth knitting before i was allowed to try anything else, lol. so, thanks! you've done some great work, mama!

who, me? wow, that is so cool, thanks! I'm totally struggling with some knitting right now, so that made me feel lots better.Your girlie is so freaking adorable!!C